Part of my presentation caused a bit of a stir: My prediction that more people (and I would also argue, companies) will remove comments from their corporate blogs in the year ahead.

Wait, what?

Yeah–that was a little of the reaction I got at the Blogger Conference.

But, hear me out.

First, the reasons:

Fewer comments may hurt your brand reputation

If your corporate blog is like many, it gets few thoughtful comments. Fact is, most blogs are seeing fewer comments than they’ve seen in the past. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the more popular and well-known corporate blogs, and how they’re faring in the comment department.

The Allstate blog is commonly listed on many “best corporate blog” lists. Taking a breeze through it, I see many posts in its current slider with under TWO comments.

What about the Whole Foods blog? No question that’s usually lauded as one of the better corporate blogs, right? Looking through the last five posts on its home page, I don’t see ONE with a a SINGLE comment.

What about Randy’s Journal from Boeing–one of the longer-running corporate blogs? A quick peek at that blog shows numerous posts with ZERO comments.

So my argument is this: If you have a corporate blog and you’re getting 0-3 comments per post, is that hurting your reputation more than it’s helping?

More “comments” are happening on Facebook and LinkedIn

To be honest, this has been happening for a while. And, there are two big reasons behind this: 1) People are spending WAY more time on Facebook (and, to a lesser extent, LinkedIn) than on corporate blogs; and 2) Companies are using paid advertising to amplify posts on Facebook and LinkedIn that drive customers back to the corporate blog (I would think most people are getting to corporate blogs in two ways–search and paid advertising). So, if the comments are really all occurring on social, and companies are actually using the paid ad products on these platforms to drive people to their blogs, do the comment sections even make sense anymore? Won’t most people prefer to comment on Facebook, where it’s easier and where they’re already spending time (and, they don’t have to “register”, as is often the case, to leave a comment)?

Social behaviors have changed

This ain’t 2011, my friends. The era of the blog comment may be winding down. Not for ALL blogs–mind you. But, by and large, people just don’t comment as much as they used to. They don’t SHARE as much as they used to either. At least, that’s been my observation anecdotally. Let’s take Gini Dietrich’s blog, Spin Sucks, as an example. By all accounts, Gini’s blog is one of THE most popular blogs in all of PR. Heck, it’s probably the MOST popular blog. And, in 2011, that blog was getting a TON of comments. To the tune of 400+ on occasion. See below.

Three years late, Gini’s blog was still seeing a lot of comments. But, the number had ratcheted down a bit.

This year, the numbers seem to be down even more.

Taking a spin on Gini’s blog today, I see the following comment numbers for the last week: 1, 3, 15, 1, 49, 5 and 14. Those might not seem too bad, but for a blog that was routinely seeing comment numbers in the hundreds they’re a big step back.

I don’t say this to take a shot at Gini. I’m a big fan of Gini’s blog, and have been for years. I’m just highlighting what I believe to be a big trend in blogging–the death of the comment.

To be clear, I’m not saying all corporate blogs should remove comments. If I’m wearing my consultant hat, as always, this is a case-by-case basis.

But, from a trend standpoint–with social behaviors changing, the rise of dark social, and far more content options than in the past, it might make sense to look at taking your comment feature off your corporate blog.

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/12/01/should-you-take-comments-off-your-corporate-blog/feed/07 trends impacting every blogger at #mnblogconhttp://www.arikhanson.com/2015/11/16/7-trends-impacting-every-blogger-at-mnblogcon/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/11/16/7-trends-impacting-every-blogger-at-mnblogcon/#commentsMon, 16 Nov 2015 14:25:32 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=13891Read More]]>On Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak at the sixth annual Minnesota Blogger Conference–an event I helped start with Missy Berggren years ago. Nowadays, Jen Jamar and Mykl Roventine run it, and they are doing a WONDERFUL job. After my limited experience at the event on Saturday, I just can’t say enough good things about what they’ve done with that event.

But, I digress.

I talked about trends impacting bloggers. Specifically, 7 trends impacting almost every blogger at #mnblogcon.

In case you missed it, here’s a sneak peek–along with the deck at the tail end.

#1: Avoid the “content shock”

Credit to Mark Schaefer for the term. I talked about how bloggers need to get back to basics, and providing their unique perspective around whatever topic they’re writing about. So many people are using listicles–and I highlighted that with a screen shot of my Feedly account (take a peek below). My argument: When everyone is zigging–try zagging. And get back to why you started blogging–because you had something to say.

#2: RSS=dead. E-newsletters=alive and well.

RSS never really took off like bloggers hoped it would. But, now, I think we can all safely say it is officially over. And, instead of just adding the standard “subscribe to this blog via email” widget to your blog, I argue you should consider starting an e-newsletter. See the deck for a few solid reasons why.

#3: Content syndication=new readers!

Everyone wants new readers, right? But acquiring them is usually a different story. Content syndication is one of those strategies that I’ve felt has always flown under the radar. LinkedIn Publishing, re-posting to Medium and finding industry sties who will run your posts–these are all great ways to re-purpose your posts to reach new audiences.

#4: The rise of DIY tools

The big discussion here–do you use DIY tools and potentially take a hit on the look and feel of your blog (but, not pay extra for help), or do you enlist the help of a professional designer to create a blog, and visuals, that appear a bit more polished? That’s the discussion right now–I fear we may be leaning too far toward the DIY side right now.

#5: Social sharing ain’t what it used to be

Here’s the part where I told everyone to take social counters off their blogs. After all, weren’t they always just an ego-trip anyway? As social behaviors have changed, dark social continues to grow, and more people spend more time on chat apps, social sharing is losing steam. Take a peek at some of the popular blogs in your industry–chances are they may have already taken down their social share buttons.

#6: Blogs are starting to look a lot less like, well, blogs.

Remember what blogs looked like in 2008? I do. They looked like a Blogger blog. Remember Blogger? LOL. Nowadays, blogs are starting to look like this blog (Jungles in Paris, a popular travel blog).

Blogs are starting to look more like the new simplified web. Big visuals. Headlines. Minimal navigation. That’s where blogs are heading from a design POV.

#7: The blog comment may officially be dead.

Copyblogger was way ahead of the curve when the popular blog killed its comments a couple years ago. I bet we’ll see many more kill their blog comment sections, too, in the months ahead. You watch.

Dave Kerpen is a agency owner and big-time influencer in the social space. If you’ve been online long, you know Dave’s been a fairly big deal for a long time. He’s owner of Likeable Local, a long-time influencer and now, a LinkedIn “Influencer.”

Dave’s business is social media and digital marketing consulting. B2B. Straight up. His company has a corporate blog. But, he doesn’t show up there much.

Where does he show up? LinkedIn. In a big way.

Dave blogs using LinkedIn’s publisher feature on a regular basis. He was part of the early “Influencer” program, so he had a big edge. But still–he’s out there posting on a regular basis. In fact, Dave’s made 184 posts on LinkedIn since he started writing there in January 2013.

And, his posts are getting big-time traction.

Take this post, for example, from March. As you can see, the post has generated more than 700,000 views, more than 4,000 like and more than 600 comments.

Those are big numbers. Numbers, I dare say, he wouldn’t get on his blog these days. And, more importantly, he’s reaching the RIGHT people. After all, LinkedIn is widely regarded as THE professional network. It’s full of people looking for jobs, tips and advice in the business world.

Now, Dave does include multiple links within each post back to the Likeable site. But, he’s choosing to post on LinkedIn–not his blog.

Another example: Medium. You know, the tool Ev Williams created as an ad-hoc blogging platform for those without a blog.

We continue to see people and brand posting here (including Periscope, which uses Medium as its blog, as far as I can tell).

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/09/18/is-the-corporate-blog-still-content-marketings-home-base/feed/3How to find a good social media blog to add to your readerhttp://www.arikhanson.com/2015/07/20/how-to-find-a-good-social-media-blog-to-add-to-your-reader/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/07/20/how-to-find-a-good-social-media-blog-to-add-to-your-reader/#commentsMon, 20 Jul 2015 12:59:04 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=13238Read More]]>Like many of you, I read a decent amount during the day. I read the newspaper. I read emails. I read news sites.

And I read blogs.

I use Feedly to aggregate all the blogs I read. I organize them by categories: MN blogs, advertising blogs, PR blogs, content blogs.

And social media blogs.

I read these blogs because I need to stay on top of what’s happening in our industry–the same reason many of you read these blogs.

But, over the last number of months, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the landscape of social media blogs.

Just so many rehashed posts. People and companies trying to game the system. People and companies just looking for a click.

For example, how many times do we have to see a post with this kind of headline before our heads explode? Was this really written in 2015?

How to Get Your First 1,000 Real Facebook Fans (Infographic)

And, how many more times do we need to restate this post? I mean, I know blogging is still new to some people/companies, but c’mon now…

How to Start a Successful Blog…Today!

And, for the love of God, how many more “47 tips from the top social media pros” posts do we need? Especially when they feature THE EXACT SAME PEOPLE EVERY TIME!!! Holy hell–don’t get me started (and, I used to be guilty of this approach, so I’m fully aware of the why and reasoning behind the posts).

67 Insights from the Worlds Top Digital Marketing Experts

Then, you have a slew of blogs created by agencies and vendors. Which, on its own, would be fine. Until you dig a little deeper and figure out many of these posts are written by 23-year-old kids almost straight out of college. Now, that’s no crime. Kids coming out of school today impress the hell out of me. Much smarter than I was at 23. Except, I’m 42 now. And, I’m looking for insights and analysis from people who have been in the business a while. People with marketing chops. People with experience. People who have been in digital marketing longer than a couple years.

So, needless to say I’m frustrated. And, to be clear, I do still enjoy some of these blogs despite some of the drawbacks.

But, it really is tough to find truly good social media blogs that: 1) Aren’t entirely self-serving and overly promotional, 2) Written by people with credibility in the industry, and 3) Written with some actual thought and analysis.

Now, there are a handful of blogs that I read regularly that I do believe hit on these key criteria. And, they’re blogs I read religiously as a result. They provide thoughtful analysis. New ideas. And bold thinking.

THAT’S what I want from a social media blog. And I get it from these folks.

I’d love to hear more from Mark–he features a lot of guest posts on his blog. But, I know he’s a busy guy. Mark’s posts are insightful, interesting and often times, well ahead of the curve (see his “Content Shock” post from 2014 here).

Although this is a pretty self-serving blog, I still usually really enjoy it. Mostly because Contently tackles virtually every angle of the world of content marketing. And, they usually do it in a very interesting way. Although I’m not a big fan of every post they make (don’t love the comics lately). I do love the case study posts and their prediction posts (even though I frequently disagree with them).

I’ve been a big fan of Jay’s work for quite a while (dating back to probably about 2009). Much like Mark, we don’t hear from him often enough (even though he’s doing a lot of video and podcasting recently). I still prefer the old 1,000-word blog posts he used to churn out on any number of topics. Today, we get more guest posts–which are still fairly good, but I’d love to hear more about Jay’s thinking. Still a great blog to keep tabs on.

If you’re reading this blog and/or you work in PR/marketing, you have probably heard of the blogs above. But, how do you find other blogs LIKE these blogs that could potentially make you smarter about your job and the world of digital and social media marketing? I think a few key steps would go a long ways:

Do a little digging on the author

Research the author. Heck, just looking up their LinkedIn profile will probably tell you enough. Do they have experience in the field? Are they an author trying to sell a book (automatic skip for me–in most cases)? Are they truly credible? This step should narrow down your reading field substantially based on what I see online these days.

Is their heart in the right spot?

I know, this is fairly subjective. But, it matters for me. For example–Mark Schaefer. Is Mark trying to make money through his blog? No question. But, does that drive everything he writes about? No. Does he try to help make the industry a better place through his writings? I think so. Does he care about his community of readers? Just go sift through the comments some time. I think the motivations of the blogger matter. Sure, most of them/us are doing this because of money in one way, shape or form. But, for the good ones, that’s not THE reason–it’s just one reason. There is a difference.

Hands-on vs. Pontificator?

This has been a big beef of mine for years. The bloggers who “pontificate”, but rarely get their hands dirty with the day-to-day work. Not going to name any names here, but we all know there are plenty of folks in this boat. The folks I really admire and appreciate really do both. They theorize, but then they also back it up by actually working with clients (Gini Dietrich and Shelly Kramer come to mind here). Find the bloggers who do both–not just one.

For every Microsoft Stories (which is actually pretty good), there’s a Van Winkle’s (Casper’s new entry into brand journalism).

And for every Coke, there’s a slew of companies out there that just don’t have enough to say to sustain an ongoing brand journalism effort.

Yet, here are the Contently’s of the world, pushing them into it (go figure–there’s money at stake, after all!).

Why am I such a skeptic? Let’s look at a few key reasons:

Is is ownable content?

Just take a peek at Coke’s popular “Journey” home page. What do we see? Content revolving around: the Grateful Dead and Coke (interesting), USA women’s soccer (they’re a sponsor), and cozy campers. Wait, what? Cozy campers? What the heck does that have to do with Coke? Now, if the article talked about tiny houses that are full of Coke-related memorobilia or something–yeah, you might have something. But, who’s going to Coke’s site to learn more about the tiny house movement? Am I the only one that thinks that’s odd? Coke is hardly the only one guilty here. Every time a new “brand journalism” site pops up, it’s full of content that’s not particularly “on brand.” So, let’s say you’re Best Buy and you want to start a digital magazine. You have a lot of leeway to write about pretty much anything in the world of electronics and technology. But, would you write about ice cream? No–because it doesn’t really tie back to your brand. That thinking must make too much sense though…

All content–NO selling?

Let’s peek at Microsoft Stories–a site, by the way, that I LOVE. I’ve written about my affection before. But, a “brand journalism” site, nonetheless, that is completely editorially driven. Take a peek at the home page–what do you see? Fantastic editorial content. A well-organized home page. Great visuals.

Now, what DON’T you see? Not one ounce of selling. No call to action. No “buy here” (although, in this case, that would be weird). Not even a “subscribe by email” CTA. Nothing. Not a whisper of a sell. So, that tells me this is a 100 percent awareness play. Now, I know big companies like Microsoft sink millions of dollars each year into building awareness. I know that’s a key goal. But, how many companies are set up that way? How many have the luxury of sinking millions of dollars each year into a very expensive endeavor like Microsoft Stories with the goal of simply “building awareness.” Why can’t sites like this sell a little? Why can’t they include a CTA here and there? Why couldn’t they do that? I have yet to hear an answer I find reasonable.

Does prohibitive costs make this a Fortune 500-only play?

Let’s make a short list of the companies that have employed digital magazines to date. Let’s see: Red Bull. Coke, AMEX. Microsoft. Noticing a trend yet? Is this whole brand journalism trend just relegated to Fortune 500-level companies? It definitely takes a serious commitment. Financial and structural. So maybe the whole “Brand as Media” mantra is really just aimed at 1,000 companies or less? Maybe it’s just for the largest of the large. Maybe it’s just for those looking to boost brand awareness at the highest levels. That rules out a whole lotta companies. A whole lot.

In the end, the truth is this: All brands CAN be media. In theory. Sure. But, can all brands really do it? Do they have the stomach for it? Can they execute? Do they have the resources? I’m not so sure.

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/07/15/all-brands-are-media-the-biggest-lie-the-marketing-industry-has-ever-told/feed/0Personal blogging in PR ain’t dead–not by a long shothttp://www.arikhanson.com/2015/05/14/personal-blogging-in-pr-aint-dead-not-by-a-long-shot/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/05/14/personal-blogging-in-pr-aint-dead-not-by-a-long-shot/#commentsThu, 14 May 2015 13:50:20 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=13149Read More]]>A few weeks ago, on the Talking Points podcast, Kevin Hunt and I discussed a guest post over on Mark Schaefer’s blog about the demise of blogging–or, as the author titled it, “Why the economics of blogging are diminishing.”

In the article, the author talks about how blogging worked 5-6 years ago, how it’s changed, and how he’s adapted his approach. The problem is: I think a lot of his thinking is flawed. And, it demonstrates once again the flawed thinking of a lot of individuals (not businesses, to be clear) that get into blogging.

I’m just going to stop right there. First, who said the formula for blogging success years ago was to write 3,000-word blog posts? Um, when was the last time you wrote 3,000 words? That’s a LOT of words. What’s more, that’s a lot of words to READ. Yeah, longer-form blog posts used to be more popular, but I would hardly say they were the way to blogging success.

And, who’s to say writing those longer-form posts NOW isn’t such a bad idea? I mean, I read Avinash Kaushik’s blog and his posts are about 50,000 words long (hardly exaggerating). Why? Because it’s helpful. It’s smart. I’ll take the time to read something that’s smart. What I WON’T take the time to read is another 500-word listicle on how I can increase engagement on Instagram.

Second, I’m not sure writing posts that solve problems is always effective either. When I started my business almost six years ago, I remember getting a lot of advice along the lines of “well, I guess you’ll have to focus ALL your blog content around your business now.” And, I remember laughing. Very hard. Because I had seen first-hand on this blog, and on a host of others, that simply wasn’t true. Sure, you want a few posts that get at a common problem every once in a while, but I would hardly say that was the path to success. Many times, the most popular posts I saw from PR bloggers were those where they cut open a vein and got personal. Or, those that were having just a little fun. It wasn’t always the hardcore business posts–and that’s what I’ve found on this blog, too.

None of those really relate to what I offer as a business. And, you could say that’s a mistake. But, I say it’s a win. You see, my strategy with blogging has never been about “generating leads” or “conversions.” It’s been all about awareness. Pure and simple. I want people to know who I am, and what I do so when they DO have a need, they think of me first. And, writing posts that are entertaining, fun and interesting obviously figures into that mix.

Finally, the author’s third point: Make your posts all about the reader/customer.

While that is true on the surface, I will once again raise my hand politely and say, “Excuse me sir, I take issue with that.”

Again, making some posts that are laser-focused on your customers and readers is a good idea. No problem there.

But, to say all (or the majority of) posts should focus on the reader is a little ridiculous.

Most people that start blogs do so for one reason: To have a voice. To share an opinion. To stand on a virtual stage on the internet and say what they have to say.

That’s all about the blogger–NOT the reader.

And, that’s perfectly OK.

I read Mark Schaefer’s blog religiously. Not so much because he shares posts that are focused on ME. But, because once in a while he’ll share a post that’s all about him. His experiences. His feelings. His thoughts.

That’s what I want.

And, I think that’s what readers want, too.

I can even make a business case with this one, too. As an independent consultant, part of the reason some people hire me is because they want to work with someone they know and like. It’s a familiarity thing. I’m not breaking big news here.

So, in order to do that, I need to get to know a whole bunch of people. Blogging allows me to start that process. When I write posts that are all about me and my experiences, what I’m really doing is allowing people to get to know me a bit better. So, when they have a business need, again, they think of me, AND they think “I like that guy, and I like how he thinks.”

I feel like a broken record saying this, because I say it so often to people who are considering starting a blog: Don’t start a blog because you want to generate traffic. Don’t start because you want 100,000 readers. Don’t start for the “fame” (I use that term very loosely).

Start because you have something to say.

Start because you love to write.

Start because you blogging is a great way to get to know people from all over the world.

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2015/05/14/personal-blogging-in-pr-aint-dead-not-by-a-long-shot/feed/2Should I keep blogging?http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/12/03/should-i-keep-blogging/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/12/03/should-i-keep-blogging/#commentsWed, 03 Dec 2014 14:16:02 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=12438Read More]]>Two Facebook posts in the last week got me thinking: Should I really keep blogging? Does is still make sense for me?

First, Geoff Livingston talked about how if he had to do it all over again, and start his social presence from the ground up, he would NOT blog.

Then, I followed a conversation thread on a private solo PR group I’m a part of where many folks were talking about why they really don’t consider blogging a great tool in terms of new business and inbound marketing.

And, it got me thinking: Should I keep blogging in 2015? Does it still make sense as a business and branding tool? And maybe most importantly, is it still worth the time and effort?

I’m going to think out loud a bit in this post–it will allow me to get my thoughts down on paper. So, bear with me for a minute. But, here’s my thinking so far:

I love to write, and blogging has been a creative outlet for me for the last six years

I started my blog almost six years ago now. In the beginning, blogging was all about a creative outlet for me. I was a bit bored with my day job, so blogging gave me an opportunity to talk about all these interesting things in the industry that were happening. Six years later, that’s the exact same way I look at it. I love to write, so blogging comes naturally to me. I don’t really have the time to do this–but I MAKE the time, because I love it. That’s what I tell people when they’re considering blogging. If you don’t love to write, and you don’t love the topic you’re blogging about, don’t bother. You won’t last. So, for me, blogging isn’t really all about leads, clients and business. It’s about me! (big shock, I know, a blogger who’s all about himself!). Not in a selfish, ego-centric way, but more from a “I love to write”-kinda way.

My blog isn’t all about business for me

I remember when I was starting my business, a friend of mine made an interesting statement: “Now your blog will have to be 100% focused on your business and your services.” Huh, I thought. Why would I suddenly change and blog only about my business? That seemed odd. So, I didn’t do that. I still blog about things that RELATE to my business–sure. But, I also blog about things I find interesting. Like cutting the cable cord a couple years ago (we’ve been a cable-free household for two-plus years now). Or, the death of the phone call in PR. These kinds of things aren’t directly relatable to my business or a service offering. But, people find them interesting. And I find them interesting. And, it leads people to my blog and site where they can learn more about me. Which is all I really want. If I can get people to my blog, to know who I am and what I’m about, that’s a big win for a solo consultant.

I’m not overly concerned with page views

Here’s another area I think most agencies/consultants get hung up on. I don’t. Why? Because 30,000 page views a month doesn’t do me very much good, if none of those folks are potential clients or influencers now, does it? So, what I’ve learned is that page views don’t matter–especially when search is now bringing up to 60 percent of my blog traffic. What DOES matter is getting the RIGHT people to read my blog. Largely, that means people in PR and digital marketing here in the Twin Cities (where 95% of my business comes from). I still love that people from around the world read my blog–that’s led to speaking engagements, guest blog opportunities and a variety of other deals in the past. But I really, really, care about getting those local folks to read my blog. That’s where the rubber meets the road.

My blog isn’t all about “new business”

When people think about blogging from an agency/consultant point of view, I think they get a little too hung-up in making the direct line to new business. That’s REALLY hard to do. In fact, I don’t know if that’s ever happened to me. BUT, on the other hand, my blog has been INSTRUMENTAL in many new business endeavors from an AWARENESS point of view. For example, I remember sitting in a new business meeting with a B2B prospect a few years back. In the room was the PR lead, the HR lead and another high-level exec. During the course of introductions, I remember the PR lead saying she had read my stuff regularly on PR Daily, and how that was a big deal for this guy (me) to be on an industry web site like that. A few days later, we started working together. That kind of thing happens fairly regularly. It’s not a direct line of sight to new business, but it’s pretty darn big.

My blog feeds my Talking Points e-newsletter

My Talking Points e-newsletter now has 1,000-plus subscribers. I’ve worked heard to earn the trust and build up that readership over the last two years. But, a big part of that e-newsletter success has been my own blog content. The whole point of the e-newsletter is to curate content from the previous week in PR/digital marketing. So, I’m serving as a filter of sorts for my audience. But, I also insert my own posts into that mix each week. After all, why not? And you know what? My posts are typically some of the most clicked-on posts week in and week out. So, without that content, the e-newsletter doesn’t have the same feel. And, it’s not driving traffic back to my site. So, this is a big factor for me, too, in keeping the blog going.

So, I guess I just talked myself into blogging again in 2015.

Who am I kidding? I’m most likely going to do this for a long, long time. For many of the reasons listed above.

What about you? Have you considered starting a personal blog? What’s stopped you or why haven’t you pursued?

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/12/03/should-i-keep-blogging/feed/10Passing the #mnblogcon torchhttp://www.arikhanson.com/2014/07/29/passing-the-mnblogcon-torch/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/07/29/passing-the-mnblogcon-torch/#respondTue, 29 Jul 2014 13:19:09 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=11873Read More]]>Four years ago, Missy Berggren and I started the first conference in Minnesota solely devoted to Minnesota bloggers: The Minnesota Blogger Conference.

We started the event because we saw a need (at the time): to help bloggers from different walks of life, who blog about different topics, come together and learn from each other. And, to be honest, just to network and get to know one another.

With the help of many, many people, we’ve pulled off four #mnblogcon’s.

It’s been exhausting. Fulfilling. Time-consuming. Informative. And most of all, a heckuva a lot of fun.

But, our run has come to an end–well, for now, at least.

Last year, Missy signed on with WCG here in Minneapolis. She also joined the board of directors for the Food Allergy Support Group, and signed on as a key member of the planning team for the local Social Media Breakfast chapter. All this meant fewer hours to devote to labors of love like #mnblogcon.

Similarly, new commitments for me to the MIMA board of directors, the Winona St. Alumni Association, Bolder Options and Goodwill (in addition to client work!), have filled up almost all my “free time.”

Missy and I have known Mykl and Jen for years. Big contributors locally. Bloggers in their own right. And great people.

When they showed an interest in taking the #mnblogcon reigns, we couldn’t resist.

We wanted #mnblogcon to live on–after all, we’ve seen tremendous demand for the event, and continue to field inquiries about this year’s #mnblogcon. So, naturally, we wanted to secure its future. With Mykl and Jen leading the way, Missy and I are extremely confident #mnblogcon will be on the right path.

Missy and I will still be involved in advisory roles, but Mykl and Jen will be handling all the day-to-day and planning details. In essence, #mnblogcon is now Mykl and Jen’s baby.

But Missy and I plan to be at #mnblogcon this fall. We wouldn’t really miss it for anything.

So, I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Mykl and Jen to the #mnblogcon family and wishing them the best of luck with this year’s event.

Missy and I have nothing but the highest of expectations

PS: If you’re interested in volunteering to help with #mnblogcon, or you’re interested in sponsoring, please contact Mykl at myklroventine@gmail.com. Look for more details on the event at www.mnbloggerconference.com.

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/07/29/passing-the-mnblogcon-torch/feed/06 lessons from creating posts using LinkedIn publishing for the last monthhttp://www.arikhanson.com/2014/06/27/6-lessons-from-creating-posts-using-linkedin-publishing-for-the-last-month/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/06/27/6-lessons-from-creating-posts-using-linkedin-publishing-for-the-last-month/#commentsFri, 27 Jun 2014 13:06:07 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=11693Read More]]>In early May I finally got access to LinkedIn’s new publishing tool. You can read all about it here.

Essentially, LinkedIn has given us all the opportunity to create blog posts on LinkedIn. Smart move.

And recently, I’ve been seeing more activity from friends and colleagues.

The former seemed like a no-brainer. After all, I already create a lot of content for my blog (2-3 posts per week, with no outside support). I don’t have a lot of extra time to create MORE content.

I had heard “experts” talk about how creating unique content for LinkedIn was a MUST. And the more I heard it, the more I thought I was right about repurposing. No one would care. I’m simply syndicating my content on another platform–same thing I’ve done on LinkedIn for years, just in a different format.

So, I decided to repurpose my posts.

So far, the results have been mixed from a few different standpoints. Here’s six initial takes after a month of posting on LinkedIn:

You’re essentially starting over with traffic

My blog gets between 15,000-20,000 uniques per month. But none of that matters on LinkedIn. You’re essentially starting from scratch. Not a big deal, but for those with blogs it’s a consideration. Here’s my first post on LinkedIn–as you can see, just 125 impressions, 3 likes and 0 comments.

All that time on LinkedIn should pay off

I don’t have insight into the algorithm LinkedIn is using to share our content. But, I’m going to guess that your connection count makes a difference. At the very least, your direct connections should see your post. So, the guy who’s posting with 100 connections isn’t going to see the same kind of initial traffic as the woman who has 1,500 connections. All that work building up a solid network over the years should pay dividends here–and I believe it has for me out of the gate.

You’re not a Richard Branson–don’t expect huge results out of the gate

Richard Branson (or any number of other LinkedIn Influencers) you are not. So, don’t expect Richard Branson-like numbers. Heck, don’t expect too much of anything at first. Again, you’re starting from scratch. Just start writing and see what resonates with readers. But, do expect results over time as perseverance will pay off. Case in point: My first five posts averaged 145 impressions, 2 likes and 1 comment. My LAST five posts have averaged 369 impressions, 12 likes and 7 comments. And that’s after just one month.

Getting featured on Pulse makes a HUGE difference

Pulse is LinkedIn’s reader platform. And, as an author on LinkedIn, getting your posts features there makes a HUGE difference. Case in point. Of my 14 posts so far, my average impression count is 251–excluding one post. A post I wrote about Fallon’s Arby’s ad May 28. That post had a whopping 11,855 impressions. And it was all due to it being featured on Pulse. I remember I posted in the morning that day and had a couple hundred impressions by the noon hour. I ran to a couple meetings in the afternoon–when I returned, the post had some 8,000 impressions and climbing. I quickly discovered it was on the Pulse home page and was getting traffic from all over LinkedIn. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to game this right now–LinkedIn is just surfacing content it believes is compelling.

Take advantage of your comments as reconnection points

Here’s the great part about this content being on LinkedIn–real people with real names and faces are commenting on it! And, most likely, many of those people you will either know or be one person removed from. So, take advantage of that! Here’s what I’ve been doing to date (in spots–but I plan to do more of this going forward): Using the comments as an excuse to direct messages folks on LinkedIn and ask them: 1) To coffee, if it makes sense, 2) How their job is going–and if/what I can do to help. Remember, LinkedIn isn’t Twitter or Facebook–there’s FAR LESS attention for time here. That said, some people don’t check their LinkedIn messages as often as others, but I would argue the lack of competition for time here far outweighs that drawback.

Repurposing content from your blog–not a big deal

Remember those experts? Turns out it’s not a big deal. Now, I’m not saying original content won’t work–certainly it will. But I am saying repurposing your blog content is no big deal at all. It’s all about reaching your audience where they live. In this case, I’m noticing many more people using LinkedIn as their de facto reader system during the day. So, it makes sense to syndicate my content there in a way that makes sense. The one caveat here: I don’t repurpose EVERY post–just the ones that make sense for LinkedIn. For example, I will repurpose any case study post, but going forward I may not post a post that highlights a new social media tool.

]]>http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/06/27/6-lessons-from-creating-posts-using-linkedin-publishing-for-the-last-month/feed/1Walmart takes on the New York Times with creative PR tactichttp://www.arikhanson.com/2014/06/24/walmart-takes-on-the-new-york-times-with-creative-pr-tactic/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2014/06/24/walmart-takes-on-the-new-york-times-with-creative-pr-tactic/#commentsTue, 24 Jun 2014 14:12:27 +0000http://www.arikhanson.com/?p=11675Read More]]>Opinion pages.

In some cases, they’re a fantastic tool in the PR toolbox.

In other cases, they can be a PITA as columnists and community leaders skewer brands who are frequent (and easy) targets.

Enter Walmart (note: Walmart is a client, although I did not assist with this particular project).

Now, think what you will about Walmart as an organization and an employer. They’re certainly a polarizing company. Seems people either hate them, or love them.

But, what Walmart pulled off last Friday is nothing short of brilliant.

Last Thursday, June 19, New York Times op-ed writer, Timothy Egan, penned an opinion piece about Starbucks and Walmart and their effect on the labor market and economy.

As you can imagine, after reading the post, it didn’t sit well with Walmart–so, they took to the offensive.

And they did so in an incredibly creative way.

Now, Walmart could have pursued other options. As I see it, they could have:

* Reached out to Egan and ask him to correct the various inaccuracies Walmart saw in the post.

* Tweeted at Egan to ask for the same thing–or at the very least, debate the inaccuracies publicly.

* Comment on Egan’s post

Or, they could do what they ended up doing: Write a spectacular blog post on the Walmart corporate blog detailing all the inaccuracies in the post in a graphic fashion by using a “red line” visual account of the story.

There are a number of ways I believe this response was brilliant from Walmart. Among them:

The opening redline quote disarms you (and it’s pretty darn funny)

Right off the bat, Walmart disarms you with that opening quote: “Tim–Thanks for sharing your first draft. Below are a few thoughts to ensure something innacurate doesn’t get published.” The quote gives the impression of Walmart having a chance to review the draft before it goes to print–in itself, ridiculous. Which is what makes it so great. Right away, you know Walmart isn’t taking itself too seriously. Yet…

Correcting obvious innacuracies

Walmart was not bashful about attacking inaccuracies in the story. Particularly those around Walmart wages–an obvious hot button topic lately.

Having some fun editing

I thought this was very smart. In one part of the post, Walmart marked up Egan’s post just as an editor would make up a first draft by making a few “editorial suggestions.”

Offering additional ideas and resources

Numerous times throughout the piece, Walmart added in additional ideas and resources for Egan to consider in his post. For example, when Egan talked about the G.I. Bill and how it helped vets to a better life upon return from overseas duty, Walmart chimed in with a stat about how it hired more than 42,000 vets this past year. Or, when Egan was talking about how Walmart makes a fortune each year and corporate execs benefit, they offered the idea of adding that the Walmart Foundation is the largest corporate foundation in the U.S. and that it donates more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind donations throughout the year.

Having some fun…

Loved this addition from the Walmart team, as a come back to Egan’s claim that one report claimed 28 percent of consumers had a negative view of the corporation: “Pretty sure any corporation, politician or even media outlet would like to have a 72% favorability rating.” A little shot in a very fun way.

And they did it on an owned channel

The best part? They did this on an owned social channel–not Facebook, not Twitter, not Pinterest. The post was on THEIR site. Translation: They own the traffic. They win the numbers. Readers could then also sign up to subscribe to the blog. They could check out other posts on the Walmart blog. This is actually another really good case study for why larger companies should still maintain a corporate blog. Without this blog in place, I’m not sure Walmart could have pulled this off…